Mérida, Yucatán — A Cuban-born artist, after living in Yucatán for almost two decades, demonstrates his appreciation for the Mayan culture in the exhibition “Caminos del Mayab.”
Ruben Calderiuz Quintero, who normally creates with a paint brush, this time has used textiles to allude to the fauna and landscapes of Yucatán.
The exhibition, which consists of 10 colorful mix-media works, was inaugurated Friday morning at the Mérida Airport, where it will remain for a month.
“I say they are decorative panels with original elements such as ropes, seeds, stones, wood beads and woven elements from Chiapas and from the south of the country,” he said.
One piece, “Oxcan,” depicts a flamboyant boa; another, “Sisal” visually alludes to the henequen that is forever associated with the Peninsula.
On a green canvas, “Yaxcabá” shares its name with a municipality in the east of the state, but in this case refers to the meaning of the word: “Place where the earth is green.”
About the artist
Calderiuz Quintero, who is also a poet and singer-songwriter, lives in Cholul. In his youth, he studied at the San Alejandro Academy in Havana, Cuba.
He previously exhibited at the Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport with a show called “Movimientos,” and another which translates to “From here and from there.”
He was the first artist in 19 years to exhibit twice in the international and national area of the Mérida air terminal.
Calderiuz Quintero was born on Sept, 5, 1946 in Havana, beginning his art career in 1961.
In 1965 he participated in the XIII Annual Exhibition of New Artists in his country and returned in the 1966 edition. In 1967 he was invited to the Second Biennial of New Painters.
His travels eventually took him to Bulgaria, where he lived for years, selling paintings in Switzerland, Russia, the United States, France, Belgium and Mexico.
In addition to his private collection, he has exhibited work at the Museum of Anthropology of Sofia in Bulgaria, the Museum of Pleven, and the building of the Ministry of Public Health of the same country.
After living more than a decade in Paris, Ruben Calderiuz decided to settle in Mexico, first in Mexico City and finally to Yucatan, where he exhibited for the first time at SoHo Gallery in 2009, along with other artists.
In 2010 he launched an exhibition, “Nostalgia de la Forma,” at the Olimpo Cultural Center and in the same venue he presented another show, called “Evolución,” in 2014.
Sources: Punto Medio, NTR Zacatecas
